Reminiscing on Tomorrow
by TimeTravelGuy
Summary: In the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto finds himself with an unexpected opportunity from an equally surprising source: The chance to change the course of history. Even the best laid plans can go awry, so it's a good thing he was never a fan of planning ahead to begin with. Time Travel, Third Shinobi World War era, Strong!Naruto, but not God!Naruto.
1. Goodbye to Today

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by M. Kishimoto and Shounen Jump, etc, etc. Not me.

AN: Well, here's another take on the ever-popular time travel tale. It should be noted that this was being written as of the fight between Sasuke, Itachi, and Kabuto. While I'll probably incorporate things that I like from any chapters afterwards, it's still pretty much free game over whether or not anything revealed after that point will be included in the story.

With that said, I hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

As the silence and darkness began to give way to image and sound, Naruto fought off a groan as he found himself surrounded by shadows, save for a small space just above. He closed his eyes, blocking out the dim, hazy light coming from the ceiling of what must have been a cave of some kind. Where was he? He couldn't have been out for long. The last thing he remembered…

_Sasuke!_

Their alliance was destined to be brief at best, but the man that had once called himself Madara – Naruto still couldn't say for certain who he truly was, and the masked man was resigned to simply being "Nobody" – had attained too much power for either of them to ignore. Without a word, when the time came they postponed their confrontation until he could be dealt with. The sooner Nobody was dealt with, the better.

Worst of all, that…thing…had been a monster like nothing he'd ever seen. It was horrible before, but after Nobody somehow managed to wrench Bee and his partner away, it would have taken the power of the Kyuubi to have matched it alone. In the midst of the battle, he'd been so focused on rescuing the other beasts that he hadn't considered what would happen if their first transformation ran out of time before they could defeat their opponent. The masked shinobi used their recovery time to his advantage, tearing straight through even the greatest of Kakashi and Guy's attempts at support to take the Hachibi's host. Once he had all but Kurama trapped inside that demonic statue, it should have been over.

Yet somehow, impossibly, Sasuke had come. He wouldn't have been able to hold out for long on his own, not against that thing, but the new Susano'o that he'd displayed had managed to stay the masked man's hand long enough for Naruto and Kurama to recover and reenter their full transformation. Ultimately, that had been the game-ending move. It had cost both Sasuke and him a lapse in consciousness, apparently, but he still _knew_ that they'd managed to kill their opponent with their combined might before they lost. And how he was here.

The problem was…where in the world was here? This wasn't the open battlefield, ravaged by the strength of the nine Bijuu, a man with the Eight Gates at his command, the Copy-Nin with mastery over one thousand techniques, and two wielders of some of the most powerful dojutsu in history. This was…

This was a cavern. A cavern larger than any he'd ever seen. At a glance, he was almost certain it would be capable of holding the entire Allied Shinobi Forces with room to spare. But one feature grabbed his attention above all else: a series of massive roots above his head, draped from the ceiling and spanning the entire length of the empty space, for as far as the limited light allowed him to see. He prepared to push himself up, hoping to get a better look.

His shock and confusion to find his body refusing all of those commands was, given the circumstances, quite understandable.

"What is this?" At least, that's what he _tried_ to say. The words were jumbled and incomplete, as though his jaw and throat had gone numb at the attempt to make the sounds emerge properly. His eyes widened, no longer suffering from the hazed, tired vision before, his gaze frantic as he fought to so much as shift his muscles. Had he been wrong? Had they failed? Was this what it was like, to have that demonic statue rip your chakra from your body? But he wasn't in pain. It should have been painful, shouldn't it? Or maybe that was the thing. Maybe it was so difficult to fight because there was no great pain to awaken you, to trigger your senses and put your mind and body on alert. Or may—

"Well now, it seems you've finally decided to join us, Naruto-kun." The blond teen stilled at the familiar voice, heart leaping to an entirely new level of fear.

"Kptudo." The sounds were still unfocused, but they'd at least started to sound more like what he was attempting.

"Don't worry." Kabuto walked towards the immobile teen and dropped to a crouch beside him. "The paralysis should begin to wear off soon. Of course, you still won't be able to do much besides speak for a while, so you should probably just try to relax. We have a lot to discuss."

Kabuto had changed since the last time they'd met. Naruto knew that he was vying for control over Orochimaru's cells, of course. The older boy had told them as much. He just hadn't expected it to be quite so…complete. He'd always thought of Orochimaru as a sort of 'creepy snake man' in the back of his head, but he'd never looked quite so openly inhuman. Not like this.

"Askue." Damned numbness.

"Still very much alive." Kabuto chuckled, reaching out to nudge the side of his face with his knuckles. Naruto's head tilted just enough to bring Sasuke into view, sprawled out next to him with open eyes and a look of frustration that Naruto hadn't seen in quite some time. He'd seen Sasuke apathetic and he'd seen him raging, but the last time he'd seen that face was back in their days as Team Seven, when minor annoyances were their main concern. It was a look he'd always flashed briefly at Kakashi's lame excuses, Sakura's fawning, or more often than not, the childish attempts he and Sasuke always made to prove themselves better than the other.

It was the look of a teenager who was perfectly aware that he wasn't being told something that he was entitled to solely on the basis that he wasn't being told.

"There," Apparently, Sasuke had regained a bit more than he had. "He's awake. Now talk."

"There's no need to be rude, Sasuke. We're all allies here. So what is it you want to hear?" Sasuke grunted at the too-cheery voice of their captor.

"Why are we still alive? You weren't exactly inviting my brother and I to sit down for tea when we last met."

The cheerful light in Kabuto's eyes dimmed at that, and the polite smile turned downward.

"…Itachi was right, in some respects." He stood and moved to sit on one of the large, elevated stone surfaces nearby, giving both of them a better view of his position. "I didn't want to acknowledge that I could fail. I believed that by making everyone else's power my own, I would achieve perfection, and through perfection I could find myself…but achieving perfection is a futile effort. I understand that now. Regardless, I don't like being indebted to others."

"Whu det uwos?" This…was just getting annoying. Thankfully, Sasuke had heard him talk in the middle of stuffing his face with ramen enough during their training to understand the bizarre combination of sounds.

"I think what the idiot is trying to ask is 'what debt could you possibly owe _us_?'" Naruto could all but feel the frustration radiating from his former teammate as he continued. "I…might agree with him."

"That's your doing, Naruto-kun." Kabuto's amused expression returned, though this was accompanied by a smile that was almost…kind. "You showed me that we can create ourselves through others. I simply misinterpreted how you'd managed it. I tried to recreate their power through my own body. I tried to turn their goals and dreams into my goals and dreams. I tried to become them so that I could surpass them, become something greater than any of them could ever be by their own merit. Now, though…I finally understand. You built your own identity not through their powers or their philosophies or their missions, but through the bonds you formed with those you cared for and who cared for you in return."

"But that doesn't—"

"You don't need to understand. Neither of you do, really. Just know that you helped me realize what I needed, and Itachi forced me to acknowledge the mistakes I've been making in achieving it."

"So that's why we're still alive, then. You own my brother and Naruto." He nodded, eyes flickering to Naruto briefly, as the boy worked his jaw around, the numbness clearly having given way to an unpleasant pins-and-needles feeling.

"I also have a proposition. It's mostly theory, and it could end up killing us all, but I think you'll find it…interesting."

"What's the off-HA! Fin'ly!" Okay, so it wasn't completely perfect, but he could finally _say_ something. Nice.

"You have until I can move again. If I'm not convinced by then…" The threat was less than effective. Not he really expected it to be, considering their obvious vulnerability to a potential enemy who was more than capable of killing them both before they recovered.

"What would you say if I told you it was, hypothetically speaking, possible to travel backwards in time?" He chuckled at the clear disbelief written across their faces.

"You must be joking."

"Or you've snapped." He barely even noticed any awkwardness in his speech this time, and gave himself a mental slap on the back. _That's good enough_. Now he just needed to get…well…everything else to work.

"Oh, but I'm not and I haven't. I'm quite serious, Naruto-kun. It's mostly theory and conjecture, mind you, but I've done my fair share of investigations since Orochimaru's…passing…and made some rather interesting discoveries. I didn't believe it would be possible before, given the circumstances, but it would seem fate is working in our favor, and we may just be able to work it out…"

"Let's assume we believe any of this nonsense." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but his signature 'I couldn't care less" expression had finally returned. "I hear a 'but' coming."

"Yeah, yeah! _If_ we just went and trusted you—and that's a big if what with all the evil zombies and snake face and all—what's the catch?"

"So impatient." Naruto could've sworn the snakelike shinobi was laughing at them, as though they were just children asking about something invisible to them but plain to an adult. "You should know what you're dealing with first. Or would you rather hear all that could go wrong before you even know what could go right?"

He was rarely one to plan things out before getting involved. That was more Shikamaru's thing. Naruto had always been the one to rush in head first and then figure things out from there. But considering they were talking about a technique that shouldn't even be possible…

"Eh, fair enough." What could it hurt? Besides, the longer he talked, the more time they had to recover the use of their limbs.

"Hn."

"It's the ultimate technique of the Rinnegan, but even the Sage himself had his limits. This jutsu requires perfect conditions: The blood of the Sage of Six Paths, the chakra of the nine beasts born from the destruction of the Juubi, and finally, the Gedo Mazo, and the fully mastered Rinnegan. The Sage's remains are…inaccessible. The closest we could come to achieving that would be to use the blood of his descendents. Which means—"

"Of course." As usual, Sasuke caught what Kabuto was trying to say first.

"What are you—oh." He blinked as it hit him. "Oooohhh. Well, that's just great."

Neither of them missed the genuine respect behind the smirk that followed their realization.

"So you understand. Well, if you can still be sarcastic, I suppose you have some life in you yet. That's good. It means we still have a chance." He jumped back to his feet, pacing in front of them, staring off into the distance. "Both of you possess a portion of his blood, but there's more to it than that. The Rinnegan as you've seen it so far is incomplete. The truest, purest version of the Rinnegan has only been claimed by a single entity in history: The Juubi. The ten-tailed beast."

"But the Sage—" They might not have understood all of it, but they'd both heard enough from Madara and Nobody in the last couple of days to grasp the basics.

"The Sage of Six Paths was a true master of the Rinnegan as wielded by _man_, but it was still incomplete. That was our theory, anyway. Unlike Madara and _that_ man, who failed to investigate any further into the history of the Sage because they couldn't fathom that there was more to it than the Uchiha, Senju, and the tailed beasts, Orochimaru and I delved as deep as we possibly could. Our discoveries were…revealing."

"Could you get to the point already?" Naruto glanced at Sasuke for some sign of agreement, but he was as hard to read as ever. Then again, he'd also spent several years living with Orochimaru and Kabuto, so their quirks were probably familiar enough to ignore at this point.

"You're still going to be paralyzed for some time, and your comrades won't reach us any sooner. This is not a simple fairy tale. It's a complex combination of history and myth, and it must be understood in its entirety by all parties involved if we're to have any chance of success."

"Ah, whatever."

"Fine."

"The Juubi was not simply divided into the nine beasts. There was, in a manner of speaking, a tenth entity created upon its destruction: The Uzumaki."

"What! Wait…what!" What the hell was Kabuto on about?

"Oh, the Uzumaki Clan existed before that, of course. The Sage's younger son's first wife was one of them. However, it was upon the creation of the beasts that he infused their child with that final, miniscule fragment of chakra. The child's mother died during the birth, and the Sage's son eventually took another, but their first child's line continued for centuries. They have always had a unique chakra, even among the Uzumaki. A unique chakra noted for its unusual ability to create restraints capable of subduing the beasts formed from the same power as their own."

"But that's my…" _Chains._ His mother's chains, the ones she'd used to hold Kurama down during the attack on Konoha, and then later in the duel between their spirits…could Kabuto be telling the truth? Certainly, it sounded like the kind of thing that Orochimaru would have researched.

"Oh? I see this is beginning to sound familiar. I take it you know of your mother, then?" That confirmed it. Or it confirmed that Kabuto and his former master had learned of his lineage, at least.

"Y-yeah."

"Then I don't need to explain. It wasn't the only failsafe that the Sage created, however. In the event that the beasts ever went mad, or returned to their former state, he used another technique you've probably heard of: Mokuton. The Sage's second son infused the Sage's Mokuton with his own blood and chakra, and with it they created a massive entity capable of housing even the tailed beasts, so that humans might imprison them if they began wreaking havoc."

Sasuke spoke first, though both their minds had gone to the same place. They'd seen something that fit the description perfectly. They'd fought it, in fact.

"You're…talking about the Gedo Mazo?" Kabuto hummed in agreement before continuing.

"With the creation of Gedo Mazo, the Sage's first son, the ancestor of the Uchiha, sacrificed the light that burned in his eyes. The Gedo Mazo possesses nine eyes, representing both the nine tomoe of the Juubi's eyes and the three stages of evolution that his descendents would require to achieve the same light that he sacrificed."

"The Sharingan." There was no question in Sasuke's voice this time.

"Yes. The Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan, and the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Activation of the Sharingan requires will—the same Will of Fire passed on to the Sage's youngest son. The Mangekyo Sharingan requires the pain and acceptance of death, born from the loss of loved ones, which those who lived in the era of the Juubi knew well. The Eternal Mangekyo requires the sacrifice of a brother's light, as your ancestor sacrificed his own light for a greater purpose. Finally, the Rinnegan requires unification of Senju and Uchiha, just as both brothers united their strength before their father to create the living statue."

It…sort of made sense. A prison designed to continue their work long after the Sage would no longer be capable of it himself, in case anything went wrong. Though Naruto suspected it was more due to concern over how humans tended to treat the beasts in a way that drove them to hate humanity as a whole. But still, even if Kabuto was telling the truth (and Naruto had to admit he was becoming increasingly more convinced), that still left a bit of a problem.

"And where are we supposed to get all this? Me and Sasuke don't really fit the bill."

"I'm glad you asked." He paused, head tilted to the side as if listening for something. A few seconds passed, and whatever it was apparently disappeared, as he shook his head and returned his attention to them.

"The Gedo Mazo holds both Senju DNA and the chakra of eight tailed beasts. You, Sasuke, possess all three stages of the Sharingan, and the blood of the Uchiha. And Naruto, you hold the chakra of the Uzumaki line descended from the child birthed in the chakra of the Juubi, as well as that of the Kyuubi. And now, courtesy of _him_," He all but spat, not even attempting to hide his opinion of Nobody, "I hold the Rinnegan that once belonged to Nagato."

The former teammates were silent, considering the implications of what their enemy (or was it ally now?) was suggesting. Finally, Sasuke broke the silence.

"So we have everything the jutsu would need…" He trailed off, and Naruto spoke what they were both thinking.

"…but it's useless unless one person has it all." The conclusion was met with a sigh from the older shinobi.

"And therein lay the problem." Naruto squinted at Orochimaru's former subordinate. He wouldn't have brought this up if there was no point. At a closer glance, his posture, the tone of his voice…

"You've got an idea."

"Hm?" His attempt to act surprised wasn't fooling either of them, though he probably hadn't tried that hard to begin with.

"Naruto's right. You wouldn't tell us this if there was nothing we could do."

"Well, I _do_ have a theory…" His eyes shifted to Sasuke. "I can't say you'll like it though."

"Just tell us."

"Yeah, get it outta the way."

"Very well." He sighed, and then took a deep breath. "Sasuke, you know what I'm capable of. It's the same technique Orochimaru failed to use against you. If we do this, it needs to be in one body, which means our best bet is—"

"No. Not a chance." Sasuke's voice was firm, but an underlying hint of anger was definitely there.

_What's got him so angry?_

"Sasuke, what's—"

"He wants to absorb us." None of them missed the clenching of his fist, even if it wasn't as forceful as it could have been. "He wants to infuse our bodies into his, and then _he_ would have all of our powers."

"Umm…" Naruto gulped. "I'm kinda with Sasuke on this one. Not really liking this plan."

Kabuto rubbed at the bridge of his nose, clearly expecting this, but not at all pleased to deal with it. He sounded strangely…tired, somehow.

"I'll only hold all of your powers if I'm the dominant personality."

"Huh?"

"Sasuke, what you saw in the cave was the result of simply infusing the DNA of others. I'm talking about a legitimate fusion of our bodies, chakra, and if you consider the thoughts, emotions, and personality of an individual their soul, then I suppose it even includes that. I _would_ possess our combined knowledge and skills…or one of you will. In fact, I imagine that even your tenant might have a chance at taking control, Naruto-kun." And just a few days earlier, Kurama probably would have been more than willing to take a shot at it. Now, though…he wasn't so sure.

"And what, you expect us to believe you'll just let one of us decide who's in control?"

"If you'd prefer we duel for dominance, then I suppose we could. However," He glanced in Naruto's direction, "I have every intention of surrendering control to you."

_Huh?_ "Me?"

"I'm not trying to recreate myself through the use of others anymore, but I'm still no one. I have no place attempting to change the world. Just as I helped begin this war for my own desires, I would likely return to that path and abuse my knowledge for selfish purposes if given another chance. I might fight the urge for a while, but…"

"Sasuke, what about—" Kabuto cut him off, his voice tinted with frustration for the first time since they'd begun the conversation.

"He is an avenger at heart. Do you really believe he could erase a decade of growing anger and hatred if confronted by those that have done him harm? Do _you_ believe you could do it, Sasuke-kun?"

"…No." Two sets of eyes shot to Sasuke, surprised at the admission despite his previous actions. They were talking about a chance to change things, to save his family if that was what he wanted. "I couldn't."

"Sasuke…" The last Uchiha tilted his head to catch his oldest friend's eyes.

"Don't lie to yourself Naruto. I can't let it go. Even now, I can't just let it go." His eyelids drooped shut. "I'm so tired of all this. I don't want another chance."

An unsettling feeling welled up in Naruto's chest, so much that he missed the satisfaction in Kabuto's eyes as Sasuke seemed to accept that his offer might have been legitimate. Or perhaps he just believed that, at the very least, Kabuto believed in what he was saying.

"Good." He clapped once to draw their attention. "Because I've already made the preparations."

"But how…?"

"Giant snake summons aren't just for show. It turns out they're good at quite a few things, including moving large objects across great distances in a short time." He paused as he took note of their expressions. "What? Did you really think I was giving you a choice in this? Well, I suppose I _am_ giving you a choice, but no more than what Itachi gave me: You can agree, and we can do this on your terms, or you can do what I say anyway."

With a single smooth motion, he'd crossed the short distance between them, gripped both of them by an arm, and made the massive leap to the brightened opening above them. Naruto's breath caught in his throat at the gigantic figure sitting before them as they landed.

Gedo Mazou.

"Well, best we do this before anyone starts having second thoughts." Kabuto's spoke from above them, just above the sound of hissing and smooth scales gliding across the land beneath them.

And then the world faded to black once more.

* * *

AN: Hope you all enjoyed. I'd love to hear any opinions.


	2. Running Blind

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by M. Kishimoto and Shounen Jump, etc, etc. Not me.

AN: So, here's the next chapter. As I've told those who asked (and added in the summary), this is NOT a God!Naruto fic. Naruto will not be some absurdly unstoppable power machine with the all of the legendary Dojutsu, Kekkei Genkai, Bijuu, etc, etc. He'll be powerful, but to me, making him completely unstoppable always just removes the fun from the story, so I try to avoid doing it in my own writing. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

* * *

The first time he woke, it was only to pain and flashes of sound, then darkness again.

"_Naruto-kun."_

"—_a long time to work things out."_

"—_push your limits—"_

"_A steep price, but—"_

The second time he woke, the pain remained, but so did his sense of awareness. Naruto let out a gasp as feeling rushed back into his body, immediately regretting the instinctive decision to sit up as he let out a pained cry, surrounded by darkness yet again. He wasn't one to verbally react to pain, but this wasn't the pain he was used to. It seemed every cell in his body had been set aflame. Each breath and twitch set off a chain reaction that burned through every piece of muscle and flesh with an unyielding determination. Had he been in the state of mind to reminisce on the most agonizing moments of his life, the closest he might've found was when he'd lost control of Kurama's chakra in Orochimaru's presence and awoken to find most of his flesh red and raw, but the pain dampened thanks to Sakura's timely treatment.

He felt something press against his chest, forcing him down to a soft surface as sharp points pierced his flesh. The invisible arm held him in place until his violent struggling ceased and his breathing steadied, the fire racing through him gradually dulling into a tolerable throb. As he attempted to regain his bearings, there were a number of things that began to capture his attention now that his mind was no longer obscured by the feeling of being torn apart at the seams.

His eyes were covered. _No…_that wasn't right. There wasn't any kind of bandaging that he could feel, just a strange sort of wet, sticky feeling, and he couldn't open—why the hell couldn't he open his eyes!? His heart began to race as he brought a hand towards his face, only to pause as an unfamiliar voice hissed through the haze.

"Don't." It was quiet and soft, yet still slightly rough, crackling, almost elderly in a way. He lowered the hand.

"Where am I? Who are you? What the heck is going on?" He shifted, which only served to draw another frown. He was heavier than usual. He'd been stabbed with something, maybe some kind of sedative…but that didn't work. He'd been given sedatives and anesthetics before during hospital visits. This was different, almost solely limited to his stomach, and a different sort of weight than anything he'd experienced due to exhaustion or medication. It was more like something pressing down, but pulling at the same time.

"Do you remember nothing?"

"I…" The dulled ache in his forehead pulsed for a moment, and his mind was assaulted by a scene that was no doubt recent in his memory.

"_Man, what—" A scream echoed through the forest as he tried to open his eyes, hands slamming against his face to block the light, only to bring about an entirely new concept of pain into his world. Then there were voices, and something wrapping around him, though any notion of time was too far beyond his grasp to guess at how long they'd taken. _

"—_eed to hold him still!" _

"_He's too panicked!" _

"_Sedate him." _

"_But if he's been poisoned or—" _

"_Then could it be worse than this?"_

The images flashing through his mind began to fade, and he gave his head a shake, absently noting that while it was still noticeably sore, the action hadn't brought about any significant pain. They must have used the same thing on him in the forest. The one speaking to him…he knew the voice. It was the calm one from the forest, the one that seemed to know what to do.

"You saved me." He shifted, something clinging to his back and arms in a thin layer...sand. It was sand, or maybe dirt. Was there a difference? Oh well. At least he knew why the ground felt so soft.

"So you do remember."

"A bit." He remembered the cave. He remembered Kabuto doing something, and darkness, and then pain. After that, though… "It's pretty hazy. But thank you. For helping me, I mean."

"We thought there might have been an intruder. When we came across you in the clearing, we decided you were quite…interesting."

Naruto chuckled at that. He'd been called many things, and by many different people. "Interesting" was usually one of the last on the list. Most preferred to describe him as anything ranging from annoying to hilarious to completely insane, but never something so neutral as "interesting." He ignored the strange weight tugging at his stomach and asked one of the first questions that any shinobi needed to answer in an unknown situation.

"So where is _here_ anyway?" He wouldn't deny that subtlety had never been his strong point. Besides, being honest and blunt seemed to work out well for him most of the time, even if it did get him into trouble on occasion.

"Before I answer that, I would rather know where _you_ think you are." Then his rescuer was probably a shinobi, samurai, or at least some form of military or law enforcement. He (or was it she? The voice was rather ambiguous in that regard) knew that it could be dangerous to simply reveal his location to a complete unknown.

"I really don't know. I think I was somewhere in the Land of Frost or the Land of Hot Water. I was fighting someone. Pretty sure I've spent a lot of time knocked out since then though."

"I see." His…her…its tone didn't tell him anything. So Naruto responded as he responded best: he winged it and had a little fun in the process.

"I don't."

"Pardon?"

"See. I don't. What the heck is up with my eyes? What is this stuff? I don't _think_ I'm blind. Oh hell, _please_ tell me I'm not blind."

"We're confident that you'll regain your sight eventually." That soured his cheerful mood somewhat. No, 'you _might_ see again' weren't exactly words of comfort.

"What's that mean?"

"Your condition is, to put it simply, unfamiliar to us. Those who live here are experts in dealing with poisons and venoms, so perhaps an eye specialist would be able to identify the problem more easily, but we've never seen something quite like it." Huh. Poisons and venoms. Probably ninja, then.

"So…what is it exactly?"

"You are a shinobi, this much is obvious. Have you ever heard of someone concentrating so much chakra in a single area of their body that it caused injury?" Naruto's mind immediately went back to his training with Rasengan. After he'd completed the second stage, Jiraiya had explained that his hand was burned because he'd focused so much chakra in his palm without really having the experience to prevent that kind of reaction.

"I burned my hand that way once. So you're saying that I somehow _burned my eyes_ with my chakra?" That…actually made some sense.

"Or someone else has developed a very effective technique for disabling their enemies, yes."

A voice whispered in the back of his head, _"This wasn't meant to be used, much less used multiple times. These eyes will be the price. It may be a steep price, but for a jutsu like this…"_ The words were familiar, and the voice was…Kabuto? Yes, it was definitely Kabuto, distorted though it may have been. Of course there would have been a price. If the technique did what Kabuto said, then it probably would have required an incredible amount of chakra, and if it was all channeled through the Rinnegan…

"Well, thanks either way. So this stuff on my face, I'm guessing that it's some kind of healing…gel…stuff?"

"It's a unique anesthetic that reduces chakra flow in the area where it's applied. If it were anywhere else, I expect your body would recover in a matter of days even without the treatment, but considering your eyes were affected…" Its tone took on an obvious tilt of apology. "I'm afraid we can't provide a specific timeline."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm good at working things out as I go." It was better than nothing, after all. He was lucky their little stunt hadn't just straight up killed him.

"I would hope so. Otherwise you'll be in for a rather unpleasant recovery."

"So…gonna tell me where I am?"

"In a safe place." Naruto opened his mouth to respond, only to pause at the sound of something moving across the floor, and the tugging at his stomach intensified.

_What __**is**__ that anyway?_ He lifted a hand to his stomach, jerking back as it brushed against something unfamiliar. Something moving.

Something covered in scales.

"The hell!?" He pressed his hand to the thing again, trailing his fingers down the side as it swayed. He felt himself begin to tremble as he felt the connection with his torso. This thing was attached to him, maybe coming _out_ of him. Just as he moved to sit up, to find something that would tell him this _wasn't_ what he was really feeling, the soft voice spoke again, this time from just to his right. When had it even moved? It really _must_ have been a ninja, because he didn't hear a thing.

"Try to stay calm."

"W-what?"

"Your…associate…has been concerned for your welfare. I'm surprised you would react in such a manner to his presence."

_My…_Kabuto. There'd been a snake hanging around his waist, but the cloak he'd worn had obscured most of it. Naruto thought it'd just been one of the snakes he and Orochimaru always summoned, like Gamakichi or something. It never even crossed his mind that the thing might have actually been _part_ of him. And he'd been talking about fusing their bodies for the technique. Fuse their bodies. He was fused with a snake.

He was _fused_ with a _snake_. And here he'd been creeped out at the thought of fusing with Fukasaku or Shima.

"It's a good thing you have him too. Otherwise this conversation might have never occurred."

"Huh?"

"I haven't spoken a word of your language since you awoke. Your companion has been acting as a translator."

_Wait, but then_…Snakes. He was talking to a snake through the snake fused to his stomach. All of this brought only one question to mind:

Why couldn't his life _ever_ just be simple?

"It was only due to your unique condition that we even rescued you. It isn't every day that we encounter a human who possesses the powers of the White Snake." The voice changed, no longer the soft, if somewhat crackly voice. It was deeper, stronger. This must've been the voice he normally used with humans, rather than the hissing his new 'companion' was translating.

"White…who _are_ you?"

"We are the Snake Sages of Ryūchi Cave."

"Oh." That increasingly familiar, uncomfortable darkness came again.

When he rose for the third time, he was far more prepared. He didn't attempt to open his eyes, nor did he shoot into a sitting position. The tugging at his stomach returned as well. His hand rose, hovered for a moment, almost unsure of what he would find, and then pushed forward to brush the scales of Kabuto's — or his, really — companion. He couldn't say what he was expecting. A reflexive jerk, or a violent hiss, or maybe some kind of conversation. According to the supposed "Snake Sage" that calmed him, it would give him a means of communicating with both the Sages and other snakes, or at least that was the impression he'd been left with.

Whatever had been on his mind, he hadn't expected the sudden explosion of awareness toward his surroundings as the weight shifted, its full weight pressing down on his stomach. It must have been hovering right above him, rather than to the side. More importantly, he could _see_. Well, he couldn't _see_ see, but it was there all the same. Something large in the distance, he couldn't quite make it out, but nearby…trees. There were trees, moving with the cool breeze, and very near. It would explain why the ground around him was cool, but suddenly grew warm after a dozen or so feet. He was in the shade. There was life all around, but nothing large enough to cause concern. There were small wings fluttering through the air, hundreds of tiny legs shifting and rolling grains of sand, ruffling blades of grass, swaying leaves.

This feeling was something he knew all too well. There were differences, a great many of them, but the sensation was the same. No fighting, no struggle, no hatred or aggression…nothing but peace, a sense of belonging, of being one of many pieces of the world around you. This was Sage Mode's purest form, achieved in a state of complete meditation.

Also, being able to basically see again was just fantastic.

Along with these thoughts, there was a sudden impression of agreement in the corner of his mind, and instinct told him it was coming from the snake, that it was agreeing with what he'd been thinking. A little creepy, having an almost constant presence in his mind, but it was easy to see how it could be useful. Almost like Kura—

_Kurama!_

Naruto had many regrets in his life. Some of them were quite serious, others relatively petty. However, if he were to look back on things, his greatest regret in that particular moment was not that he moved. In point of fact, the searing agony of before had fled, leaving only an aggravating soreness in its place. No, his greatest regret was that while the immediate pain had left, it all returned when he realized the flaw in leaping to one's feet when dozens of extra pounds had only just been added to one's stomach.

Sand was soft until an increasingly exhausted and sore body hit it full force after stumbling into a tree, flailing the entire way. Upon first touching the serpentine addition to his stomach, one possibility he'd considered was an aggravated hiss. Well, that hiss was coming in full force now, an inescapable presence of frustration and reprimand at the forefront of his mind as it made its feelings on his decision clear. The next time he moved, it was only to roll over and push himself into a sitting position, cross-legged and back to one of the trees. The serpent was far more pleased with this decision.

But he had more important things to think about than whether or not he was in pain, or if the snake — maybe he should give it a name — was currently in the mood to bite him in the face. He settled into a familiar meditative pose, and prepared to delve into the depths of his mind, where the demonic fox had always awaited an opportunity to see him, whether for good or ill.

It was frightfully empty. Even when they'd been enemies, there had been something comfortably familiar about the fox's presence in his mindscape. It was even better after they'd finally broken through all of their differences and acknowledged one another as friends and allies, albeit with a healthy dose of nonchalance in Kurama's case. Maybe it was because Kurama had been with him since the day of his birth, or maybe it was just a comfort to know that you had a gigantic demon fox of unimaginable power at your back, but he'd always felt like Kurama somehow belonged there. Seeing his cage, his resting place, empty like this was plain discomforting. Like there was just something wrong, out of place.

He stepped forward to examine the seal. Nothing was different. It was exactly the way he'd left it when he'd finally released Kurama, and they'd worked alongside one another, for the first time in perfect tandem. There _was_ something beyond the bars though. It wasn't visible, it was just…a feeling. Like a heartbeat, almost. Whatever it was also emanated from the bars, as if they'd been infused with chakra. Yes, that's it. It was chakra. He brushed a hand against them, energy humming as the memories once again assailed his thoughts, fragmented and incomplete, but there all the same.

"_It's good to see you again, Naruto-kun."_

"_Loser."_

"_We're just fragments of chakra. Once this meeting is over, there won't be anything left of us, even here."_

"_We've been here for a long time. A long time to talk about the past. A long time to work things out."_

"_We had to push your limits…we had to push all our limits beyond anything we've done before."_

"_This wasn't meant to be used, much less used multiple times. These eyes will be the price. It may be a steep price, but for a jutsu like this…you've always been strong, even when you had nothing but your will. The Rinnegan is lost to this body, probably forever." _

"_The Kyuubi's gone too. No more nearly-limitless chakra, idiot." _

"_Never needed it to beat you senseless, bastard."_

"_Most of our chakra has been absorbed into yours, but some is still merging. At this rate, I'd say you've got a few more weeks. Until then, I wouldn't suggest releasing the seal."_

"_I'm sure you'll make due."_

"_You really can't…?"_

"_Heh. Not this time, Naruto."_

He shook his head. It wasn't much, but it was enough. They'd met the same fate as his parents. They'd left just enough chakra to leave him a few final words, enough to explain some of the situation. More importantly…he glanced over at the cage. Maybe he could just open it a little…

_You idiot!_ Somehow, even though he knew Sasuke was gone, he was certain he'd heard the exasperated voice from their Genin days, demanding that he _not_ do something horribly, horribly unwise. Okay, so maybe he'd give it a few more weeks. Kabuto probably knew more about it than he did anyway.

* * *

AN: There you go. Hope you enjoyed, and I'd love to hear any opinions on the fic.


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